Calvion looks as though he could wither and die, all color draining from him while the throne room empties. Then the emperor speaks in the language of the Omegaland people, Calvion starts to translate when Octavius stops him with a word and hand gesture. As it turns out, Octavius speaks the Old Tongue because he was alive when it was used in this land 1000 years ago. “You no doubt have questions, savage. What is your name?”

Koronos remains silent and regains his stoic composure, acting unconcerned as if he meets emperors every day, “I am Koronos of the Thunderfel of Kazar.”

Octavius continues, “of course you do but are too proud to ask, no doubt, Koronos Thunderfel of Kazar. You are Everliving, that’s what you sense about me and my advisors, and we sense it on you. That doesn’t mean you can’t be killed, son, it means you are hard to kill, and you will live for a long time, as have I, I am over 1200 years old. You see, I was born when this city was still called Titans, but 1000 years ago I conquered it and renamed it to ‘Octavia,’ a good name I think.”

“Are we gods?” Koronos reluctantly asks, but his curiosity finally overcomes his stoic pride. Meanwhile, Calvion tries to make himself as small as possible, hoping nobody will notice his existence.

“See, that’s what I like about Kazarians, practical people and straight to the relevant conundrum! The truth is, don’t know; maybe, maybe not, all I know is that I’m the oldest of our kind that I’ve encountered… that is still alive.” Octavius states it as a matter of fact, he’s killed Everliving in the past and he is deciding if he should ‘collect’ Koronos or kill him. And in that moment, he decides.

“You will remain here as my guest, you will learn civilized languages, learn to read and write, but most importantly, you will learn martial arts and advanced combat because you’re of no use to me dead. Do not try to escape or you will never know who you are and what we are, and my guards will kill you. This old scholar will teach you languages.” Octavius gestures at Calvion, “you will be paid handsomely, beyond anything you ever dreamed of, Sage. Do not fail me.” With that statement, he nods to the female advisor, turns and walks away, his two other advisors, and his personal royal guards follow him in tow.

Calvion bows all the way to the floor in supplication, while Koronos wonders why a man would bow to another man. The captain of the royal guards looks confused that Koronos doesn’t bow, but more so that Octavius seems to not care that he didn’t bow, and he wasn’t gestured/commanded to make him bow.

One advisor stays behind, the one that Octavius nodded to. She is a lovely young woman that doesn’t appear to be of Omegaland ethnicity, but she only appears to be young, but since she is Everliving, she could be much older. She speaks in the Old Tongue but not as well as the emperor, “I am Cassi, short for Cassiopeia. Do I have your word, Koronos, your word on the memory of your ancestors that you will behave yourself and be a proper guest, not a mindless savage, if I remove your chains?”

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Koronos is a man of his word and because of that, he is reluctant to agree, because he will keep his word, “yes.”

She continues as the guards remove his chains, “this is a great honor that is extended to very few, especially some savage from Kazar that is low born, your kind are usually slaves… on the rare occasion that they aren’t killed while capture is attempted.”

Calvion’s color is starting to return, now that he knows he will survive the day and that he will be staying in the royal palace, a position very few scholars ever achieve.

After a few minutes of walking slowly, Koronos gives in to his curiosity once again, he asks, “so, what are we and why are we?”

Cassi sighs, “There seems to be no discerning pattern to where or why Everliving are born, you are the first Kazarian we’ve ever encountered or even heard about that is one of us. Each of us seems to have a different special ability, I can move things from a distance with my thoughts. What is your ability?”

Koronos thinks this question over for a moment, “I’ve always been good with animals, I’ve had pet wolves and other exotic pets over the years, they seem to understand me.”

“Hmm, okay, you’re an animal whisperer, perhaps, how interesting. Here's what we do know; the older we get, the more powerful we get. That’s why my father is so powerful.”

“Your father?” says Koronos and he stops walking.

“Yes, the emperor is my father.”

“So, he’s over a thousand years old, so he has many sons, no?” Koronos asks while thinking that must be where all the people in the city come from.

Cassi quickly answers because it’s a sensitive subject matter for her, “no, Everliving rarely have children, and when they do, they are almost always Everliving. I am the only child my father has ever sired, that is Everliving. He fathered a son once, but he wasn’t Everliving, and died hundreds of years before I was born.”

“How do I cure it?” He asks, a little too quickly and feels a little foolish for asking.

“Cure what?”

“This, Everliving thing, I don’t want it, I want to have many sons.” Koronos states, and seems devastated because he is doing the math in his head; two children in 1200 years…

Her reply starts out with amusement in her voice, but her tone turns more somber by the time she finishes the reply, “you don’t cure it, silly, it’s part of you, for always.” Then they both remain silent until they reach his apartment. “I trust this will be suitable? And, you will be joining us for dinner, as do all important guests.”

The apartment looks like something suitable for a king or foreign ambassador to stay while visiting, but the reality of the Everliving phenomenon weighs on him like a dagger in his heart, so Koronos simply nods as a numbness overcomes him.

Initially, Koronos planned to escape at the first opportunity that was presented, but now he isn’t sure why. Go home and do what? Live out his days through eons with no sons, wandering the mountains aimlessly with a tribe that will see him as broken and pitiable? No, he can’t go home now, he has no home.